Q & A with Ross Brawn

Source : www.autosport.com
By Edd Straw

Q. Rubens Barrichello said after the race that Brawn GP showed today how to lose a race. What is your reaction to that?

Ross Brawn: Yeah, it wasn't a great race for us. We probably tried too hard to come up with compensation for the lack of performance we had. We tried three stops and then we had a fuel rig problem which made it even worse, and his radio wasn't great in the race - he was struggling with it so the normal briefings we were giving him during the race of what was happening, he wasn't getting all the information. He didn't really have a full picture of what was going on in the race, but we were not quick enough today.

Q. So you are saying you did lose him the race?

RB: Yes, by not being quick enough. If we had been quicker we would have won the race, but we were too slow.

Q. So not by decisions you did or did not make?

RB: There were no decisions to make. We fuelled him to get him in front of [Nico] Rosberg at the pit stop but we had a problem with the fuel rig. When he came out he was behind Rosberg. Those things happen occasionally in the pitlane. It was unfortunate and he's very frustrated, but so are we.

Q. But his implication is that if you had made the right decisions, it would have helped him win the race?

RB: I don't think that is the case. When he sits down and looks at all the numbers he will realise that we were too slow today. There was no capacity to win the race. Mark had a drive through and was still back in front of us after a few laps. We just weren't quick enough today and when you are cocooned inside the car, you don't get a good picture of what is going on. So he will find when he understands how the race went then his view on things will be a bit different.

Q. He was asked about the debrief and just said, blah, blah, blah. What do you make of that?

RB: I think that is a frustrated racing driver. When you put so much into a race and it hasn't worked out, then that is what you get sometimes. If you get out of the car thinking you should have won the race and you haven't got all the facts, then that can happen. Now he has the facts and understands what happens, he is fine.

Q. Are you happy for him to speak out like that?

RB: It's a passion some drivers have. But I want to have a look at exactly what he said and be clear, but he understands now what happened in the race. Rubens had the 11th fastest time in the race today. You cannot win a race, whatever strategy you have, if your best lap is only 11th quickest. It is just not possible. Those are the facts. Once he calms down, the problems we have is to go quicker. Today we were not quick enough and we have to respond because if we don't we will throw the championship away.

Q. So are you going to have a word with Rubens about his comments?

RB: I will understand the whole situation first before we say anything. In the heat of the moment these things happen. We want to understand the whole picture and what he said. Rubens has been a very important member of the team. He stuck with the team through very difficult times, he has a lot of loyalty to the team and that is not something that will be destroyed with a few frustrated words after a race.